Pavillon Ledoyen
Temple of gastronomy
since 1792

There are names which appear irrevocably linked. The Champs Elysées and Pavillon Ledoyen are two of these, to such an extent do the celebrity of the most beautiful avenue in the world and the reputation of one of the oldest restaurants in Paris go hand in hand...

Built in the Champs-Elysées’ gardens in 1842 by the renowned architect Jacques- Ignace Hittorff, the neo-classic building holds its name from Doyen, the restaurant owner who made his prestige from 1792.

A bit of history...

In 1617, Marie de Medicis, widow of Henri IV and mother of Louis XIII, gave orders for initial development. On her initiative, the former path along the right bank of the Seine was transformed into a wide promenade (Cours de la Reine).

Fifty years later, an avenue called«Le grand Cours» was cleared on a proposal by Le Nôtre, which in 1709 would take the name « champs Elysées ».

The first Café sprung up and, in 1790, there were a dozen Cabaret on the Champs Elysées that continued to prosper in spite of the revolution and the fact of the neighbourhood’s being a favourite of the Monarchy.

One of this Cabaret would be rented in 1792 to Antoine-Nicolas Doyen. He was from a family of caterers used to working in the Tuilleries and the surrounding area since the time of Louis XV.

For the modest inn, it would be the start of a period of renown, which year after year, through all of the political upheaval, would last until the present day.

The establishment, then called “Le café de la Surprise”, and its owner would leave their legacy to the French gastronomy offering the first service “à la carte”, and would establish their popularity that, year after year, through the political upheavals, would continue until now

And now...

Since his arrival on July, 1st, 2014 and the extension of the exploitation concession for 15 years by the city of Paris (January 1st 2016), Yannick Alléno has been working on the Pavillon Ledoyen's renaissance, a Parisian institution and a gastronomic sanctuary since 1792.

After the refurbishment of the public spaces in 2016, and the installation of a monumental contemporary art work designed by Olivier Masmonteil above the main staircase in 2017, the Pavillon Ledoyen staff unveiled in March 2018, and after several months of renovations, the outstanding kitchens of the establishment.

In order to give the backstage of the Champs-Elysées pavillon their splendor back, an institution that celebrated its 225th anniversary in 2017, and to make its kitchen an exceptional place like no other, Yannick Alléno retained the talents of the DS Automobiles designer whose luxury “à la française” is synonymous of pure and futurist lines as well as technological perfection.

As an extension to the kitchen, he also installed an exclusive table co-signed with the avant-garde and unique styled Champagne house, Moët & Chandon.

Desiring to emphasize the beauty of the gesture, carried by his teams in the kitchen as in the restaurant, and to continually surprise his guests by a refreshing modernity in adequacy with the contemporary expectations, Yannick Alléno benefits from the historical assets and considers the future in the respect of the environment, always affirming a typically French savoir-faire.

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